Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been dealt a severe blow after being handed a four-year ban from football for breaching the FA’s anti-doping regulations.

According to reports, the maximum penalty was handed down to the 25-year-old after a banned substance was found in his sample, whilst Mudryk maintains his innocence and denies the charges against him.

The case dates back to November 2024, when the player played his last official match, before subsequently receiving notification of an abnormal result in a routine doping test. In June 2025, he was formally charged with breaching the regulations, leading to the current sanction.

In an escalatory move, Mudryk lodged a formal appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which confirmed in a statement that it had received the appeal on 25 February 2026, noting that the case remains at the stage of exchanging written submissions, in preparation for setting a date for the hearing.

Findings revealed that the substance detected in the sample was meldonium, a medical drug used to treat heart conditions and improve blood flow; however, it has been included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances since 2016, due to its potential impact on physical performance.

The FA’s disciplinary system is based on the principle of “strict liability”, which holds the player fully responsible for any banned substance detected in his system, regardless of intent or knowledge. This means that the defence in such cases relies primarily on presenting mitigating factors that may influence the length of the sanction.

Pending the outcome of the appeal, Mudryk continues to train individually, at Chelsea, away from competitive action in an attempt to maintain his fitness, whilst his footballing future remains in the balance pending CAS’s forthcoming decision.

Featured image via TalkChelsea

By Alaa Shamali

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